Dara Calleary T.D. is urging small businesses in Mayo to apply for funding under The Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment’s Smart Lighting Grant Scheme.

“Applications are now open and the increase in funding means the Scheme can be rolled out more widely across the country benefitting even more small businesses this year,” stated Deputy Calleary.

“The purpose of the support Scheme is to help SMEs reduce their energy use and costs. The grant will cover more than one third of the cost of energy efficient lighting upgrades. There is a further tax incentive under the Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme that is also available and opportunities to negotiate electricity credits with suppliers under the Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme that would bring down the cost of a smart lighting upgrade even further. This level of payment could help small and medium-sized enterprises save up to 90% on their lighting costs which is a significant saving for any small business. Lighting is the second highest cost for many businesses after staff costs. The maximum grant level is €200,000 but grant payments vary depending on the scale of the project.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is administering the Scheme and applications are open until May 31st 2018.

The grant is open to small businesses across all sectors including retail, hospitality, tourism, private education, health facilities and manufacturing. Applications can be submitted by individual businesses or by co-ordinators who group applications and are in a position to apply and deliver lighting upgrades for a number of businesses.